Prosecutors unveiled the full statement in court on Thursday against "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett, who is accused of fabricating a racist and homophobic attack against himself in a bid for publicity.

(Published Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019)

"It was a punch in the gut," the boy's father, Jeff Smith, said of the diagnosis. "It makes you sick."

The disease was portrayed in the 1992 movie "Lorenzo’s Oil."

"We literally thought that was the end, like I was thinking the whole summer, 'This is the last time I'm going to play football with my son," Jeff Smith said.

Treatment went fast. Grady Smith received a bone marrow transplant in September 2018 and is now recovering, with an incredible prognosis, thanks to recent advances in research and gene therapy in Boston.

Dr. Florian Eichler, a neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, works with a team of local doctors at Boston Children's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to treat the disease.

"It used to be a lot of boys coming in in wheelchairs on deaths door," he said. "Now, they're coming after treatment reporting back from soccer camp and reporting about fulfilled lives."

A pilot program in Massachusetts screens infants so treatment can prevent symptoms and heartache from even occurring. The Smiths hope it becomes law, like it is in other states, so every baby is automatically tested.

"The test costs $2.50. It's a heel prick test at birth," Jill Smith said. "It would save so many children."

Grady Smith wears the date of his transplant, "20," on his beloved Patriots jersey. He is dealing with permanent auditory issues he can manage with therapy.